Resilient ironing surface



June 2s, 193s. c. J. WEST 2,122,165

ESILIENT IRONING SURFACE Filed Dec. 22, 1936 INVENTOR Chad@ JMS?? ATTOR Y Patented June 28, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE RESILIENT' IRONING SURFACE adelphia, Pa.

Application December22, 1936, Serial No. 117,129

5 Claims.

The present invention relates to the main roll of a commercial laundry ironer and it relates more particularly to an improved spring cushioning means for providing a resilient but fir ironing surface thereon.

One object of the present invention is to provide a resilient ironing surface in a laundry ironing machine that will readily accommodate irregular work containing buttons, seams, folds, etc.

Another object of the present invention is to` provide a resilient ironing surface that will enable an ironing machine to accommodate fabrics which may vary considerably in thickness.

A further object of the presentl invention is to provide a resilient ironing surface which will not be displaced with respect to its driving member but will be fixed in relation thereto.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a smooth unbroken and regular ironing surface which will be free from unevennesses, ridges and protuberances generally caused by a shifting or displacement of the spring means ordinarily supporting such surface. With the above and other objects in view which will appear more fully from the following detailed description, my invention consists of the details and features of construction described hereinbelow as shown in the accompanying drawing.

For the purpose of illustrating the invention, there is shown in the accompanying drawing one form thereof which is at present preferred, since the same has been found in practice to give satisfactory and reliable results, although it is to be understood that the various instrumentalities of which the invention consists can be variously arranged and organized and that the invention is not limited to the precise arrangement and organization of the instrumentalities as herein shown and described.

Referring to the drawing in which ence characters indicate like parts:

Figure 1 represents a transverse sectional view of a commercial ironing machine embodying the present invention.

Figure 2 represents a sectional View on an enlarged scale of a portion of Figure 1 illustrating the manner in which an irregularity on an article being ironed, such as a button, may be accommodated by means of the improved spring means.

Figure 3 represents a perspective view of the spring cushioning means shown in Figures 1 and 2 on an enlarged scale.

Figure 4 represents diagrammatically the resultant effect produced on an' element of the spring cushioning means illustrated in the preceding figures by the application of an increased force thereon due to the presence of a button or seam on the article being ironed.

One'form of the many ironing machines to which the present invention may be applied, in-

like refercludes, as shown in Figure 1, a main roll designated generally by the numeral 5, having on opposed sides thereof press platens or steam chests designated generally by the numerals and 'l pivoted at points 9 and 8 respectively beneath the main roll 5, feed-in conveyor belt means designated generally by the numeral Iii, delivery conveyor belt means designated generally by the numeral II and a cooperating main roll belt I2 that passes around a major circumferential portion of the main roll 5 and then leaves it to contact the feed-in belt Iii on one side and the delivery belt II on the other side. The axial spacing of idler rolls I3 maybe adjusted at will, so as to impart to the main roll belt I2 any desired tension.

The main roll 5 may be formed of solid metal of generally hollow construction as shown. The resilient spring means I4 is a mesh construction and may be circumferentially distributed around the outer surface of this main roll 5. This mesh i4 may be passed around the main roll 5 and its free ends may then be tightly laced or linked together. A series of vertical dowel pins I5 may be circumferentially distributed about the main roll 5 in staggered relation, the purpose of these dowels being to lock the resilient mesh I4 to the main roll 5, thus preventing slippage therebetween. These dowel pins I5 may extend sufciently far beyond the surface of the main roll 5 in order to obstruct and prevent slippage of the mesh and yet they need not necessarily extend beyond said surface to an extent that will interfere with the proper flexing action of the resilient mesh I4, which flexure will be more fully described hereinafter. The mesh I4 is preferably provided with a series of upturned prongs I6 which may be formed by several individual mesh strands and upturning the severed ends. The main roll 5 is thereby enabled to drive the main roll beltIZ by means of the intermediate resilient mesh I4 and the upturned prongs I6 formed thereon, which prongs grip the inner surface of this main roll belt. The main roll belt I2 is preferably formed from a coarsely woven fabric such as canvas or the like, so as to enable the upturned prongs I6 to dig in to a slight degree among the strands of the coarse fabric and thus afford an effective ancho-rage therebetween. The outer surface of this belt I2 is rmly pressed against the smooth conformed surface of the press platens 6 and I by means of the pressure exerted by the intermediate spring mesh I4.

The resilient'spring mesh I4 is composed of a series of intertwined helical coiled springs II. These adjacent spring coils I'I are applied to the outer surface of the main roll 5 so that their individual longitudinal axes will all be parallel to the axis of rotation of the main roll 5. Were the longitudinal axes of these coils placed transverse to the axis of rotation of the main roll 5 (in which case these axes would be parallel to the direction of travel of the belt), a series of reactive circumferentially distributed forces tangential to the cylindrical surface of the driving roll 5, which reactive forces would necessarilybe occasioned by the resistance of the driven main belt I2, would of necessity tend to swing the individual convolutions of these coils from their normal position in which the plane of each of these convolutions is practically perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the entire coil, to a position wherein the planes of these individual cenvolutions would be inclined with respect to lsaid longitudinal axis and might even be practically parallel therewith. Such inclination results 'in a decrease in the supporting pressure exerted upon the main roll belt I2 by the resilient mesh I 4, and therefore causes a decrease of pressure lon the articles being ironed. The coils are intertwined for the purpose of locking Athem with respect to each other, thus preventing the possibility of the formation of grooves or depressions in the main roll belt I2 which might appear were these adjacent coils separable.

The resilient spring mesh I4 and more particularly the individual helical coils I'I thereof are capable of accommodating a protuberance I8 in an article being ironed I9 such as a button, by means of a combined flattening and winding action in those individual coils I'I contiguous to said protuberance. An excessive deflection on an intermediate convolution of a typical coil I'I (which deflection may be caused by the proximity of a button or the like) results in the central convolute of Figure 4 flattening out in the direction of the arrow as shown and assuming the position indicated in dotted lines, and this flattening out action is further accompanied by a right handed and left handed winding action in the adjacent right and left convolutes, as indicated by the curved arrows.

In actual operation, a cloth article about to`be ironed is placed upon the feed belt I i3, which may be driven independently of the main belt I2, or it may be driven thereby. The article which is being fed into the ironing machine, now enters between and is gripped by the main belt I2 on one side thereof and the feed-in belt I on the other side. These two co-acting belts guide the cloth into a position whereby the main b'elt I2 which is driven by the main roll 5 can now press the work against the smooth roll-conformed surface ofthe two steam chests or platens 6 and l and move the cloth in relation thereto, thus effecting the ironing operation. As hereinabove described, irregularities in the cloth being ironed such as button, folds, seams or the like, can readily be accommodated by the resilient spring mesh I 4, which localizes these irregularities. The cloth article passes completely around the main roll 5 and is then fed onto the delivery belt I I by means of the main belt I2.

'Ihe press platens 6 and 'Imay be independently adjusted so as to further regulate the bearing pressure between them and the main belt I2. The adjustment may be effected by any conventional combined screw threaded and coiled-spring assembly, such as that indicated :generally by the numeral 2U in Figure l of the drawing. The adjustable press platens and the means for yadjusting the same form no part of the present invention.

VThe present invention may be embodied :in

other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof, and it is therefore desired that the present embodiment be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, reference being had to the appended claims rather than to the foregoing description to indicate the scope of the invention.

Having thus described the invention, what is hereby claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. In a laundry machine, a cylindrical roll, and a resilient fabric supporting mesh comprising a series of parallel interlockingly intertwined helical spring coils having unskewed convolutions, said mesh being adapted to be circumferentially applied to the surface of said roll with the longitudinal axes of the individual coils of said mesh generally parallel to the axis of rotation of the roll.

2. In combination, a cylindrical base roll, a resilient mesh comprising a series of parallel interlockingly intertwined helical spring coils having unskewed convolutions, said mesh being adapted to be circumferentially applied to the surface of said roll with the longitudinal axes of the individual coils of said mesh generally parallel to the axis of rotation of the roll, whereby the fabric-contacting portions of said coils may be devoid of any displacement in av direction parallel to the longitudinal axes of the individual coils due to an applied tangential ironing force, and a fabric supported thereby.

3. A rotatable laundry ironing roll comprising a cylindrical base, a resilient mesh consisting of a series of parallel helical coils applied to the surface of said base with the longitudinal axes of the individual coils .generally parallel to the axis of rotation of the cylindrical base, means for fixing the mesh with respect to the base, a fabric supported by said mesh, and fabric gripping means formed integrally with said coils adapted to positively grip and drive the fabric by intimate contact with the strands thereof whereby the supported fabric may be rotated by said mesh at a rate equal to that of the roll.

4. A rotatable laundry ironing roll comprising a cylindrical base, a resilient mesh consisting of a series of parallel helical coils having unskewed convolutions, said mesh being applied to the surface of said base with the longitudinal axes vof of rotation of the cylindrical base, whereby said coils may be devoid of any displacement in a direction generally parallel to their longitudinal axes due to an 'applied tangential ironing force,

50 the individual coils generally parallel to the axis means for fixing the mesh with respect to the gether, and the individual helical coils being arranged with their longitudinal'axes generally .parallel to the axis of rotation of the roll, means for preventing slippage between the interlocked coils and the roll to which they areapplied, a fabric belt carried by said combination of coils, and means .for preventing slippage between. the inner surface of said belt and said coils.

CLAUDE J. WEST. 

